Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Our journals
    • Clinical Medicine
    • Future Healthcare Journal
  • Subject collections
  • About the RCP
  • Contact us

Future Healthcare Journal

  • FHJ Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Author guidance
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit online
  • About FHJ
    • Scope
    • Editorial board
    • Policies
    • Information for reviewers
    • Advertising

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
RCP Journals
Home
  • Log in
  • Home
  • Our journals
    • Clinical Medicine
    • Future Healthcare Journal
  • Subject collections
  • About the RCP
  • Contact us
Advanced

Future Healthcare Journal

futurehosp Logo
  • FHJ Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Author guidance
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit online
  • About FHJ
    • Scope
    • Editorial board
    • Policies
    • Information for reviewers
    • Advertising

Local safety standards in invasive procedures in pain medicine

Ning Lo, Tahir Khaleeq, Justin King, Elizabeth Howland, Helen Cooke and Tim Graham
Download PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.9-2-s91
Future Healthc J July 2022
Ning Lo
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tahir Khaleeq
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Justin King
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Elizabeth Howland
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Helen Cooke
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tim Graham
AUniversity Hospitals of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
Loading

Introduction

A study in 2009 reported that a series of serious incidences deemed preventable with guidance and safety measures, defined by the NHS Events Framework as Never Events (NE), continue to happen across the UK.1 To mitigate these serious incidents, the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) released a report recommending the creation and implementation of National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs), and when applied at a local level, Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (LocSSIPs).2

Materials and methods

In 2017, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) set up a LocSSIP steering committee, with the commitment to develop and implement LocSSIPs across the trust. The aim of this committee was to ensure the ongoing safety of patients under UHB care and achieve a measurable reduction of serious incidences in invasive procedures conducted outside of theatres.

Our aim was to create and develop LocSSIPs within the Pain Medicine Department. By making patient safety central to the introduction, we were able to identify several procedures that could benefit from LocSSIPs. Those procedures included nerve root blocks, epidurals, and denervation.

Using the Model for Improvement method, the project plan was divided into four phases: scoping, development, implementation and maintenance and monitoring. We collaborated with a LocSSIP ‘champion’ within pain medicine and identified key procedures which would require LocSSIPs.

To standardise safety checks UHB has developed five key areas or elements of safety pertaining to the operator, the patient, allergies, procedural and post-procedural care. Our safety standards were framed on NPSA guidance, safety alerts and standards of the WHO checklist but tailored for procedures within pain medicine. Following implementation, compliance was audited quarterly.

Results and discussion

LocSSIPs were developed and approved with all five key elements included (Fig 1).

Fig 1.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig 1.

Pain management Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedure.

Following a successful trial beginning in November 2020, the LocSSIPs were fully rolled out in January 2021. The first audit cycle in June 2021 showed compliance of 100% in the use of the LocSSIPs and correctly completed LocSSIPs was 83.3%. The second audit cycle in October showed compliance of 100%, but only 73% of those were correctly completed. Following further education on the use of LocSSIPs within the department, a third cycle audit of January 2022 showed an improvement of correctly completed LocSSIPs of 86% (Fig 2).

Fig 2.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Fig 2.

Compliance and completion during three audit cycles.

There has not been any reported NE or serious incidents in UHB since the introduction of the LocSSIPs.

The five key elements serve to ensure that at each point pre-procedure and post procedure integral safety checks are completed.

Continuous feedback from the team is encouraged to improve compliance in use and correctly completed LocSSIPs. The checklists were also updated to reflect recent patient safety alerts and to make them more user-friendly for staff.

Conclusion

There is overall good compliance, however, as with every quality improvement process, the work is longitudinal, and the troubleshooting process is still ongoing. Continuous auditing and monitoring of their use are required as well as the long-term effects on serious incidents to determine the true impact of LocSSIPs on patient safety in invasive procedures.

  • © Royal College of Physicians 2022. All rights reserved.

References

  1. ↵
    1. NHS Improvement
    . Never Events policy and framework. www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/revised-never-events-policy-and-framework [Accessed 11 February 2022].
  2. ↵
    1. NHS Improvement
    . National safety standards for invasive procedures (NatSSIPs) www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/natssips [Accessed 11 February 2022].
Back to top
Previous articleNext article

Article Tools

Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Local safety standards in invasive procedures in pain medicine
Ning Lo, Tahir Khaleeq, Justin King, Elizabeth Howland, Helen Cooke, Tim Graham
Future Healthc J Jul 2022, 9 (Suppl 2) 91-92; DOI: 10.7861/fhj.9-2-s91

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Local safety standards in invasive procedures in pain medicine
Ning Lo, Tahir Khaleeq, Justin King, Elizabeth Howland, Helen Cooke, Tim Graham
Future Healthc J Jul 2022, 9 (Suppl 2) 91-92; DOI: 10.7861/fhj.9-2-s91
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Introduction
    • Materials and methods
    • Results and discussion
    • Conclusion
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Improving the provision and quality of safety netting instructions for patients seen in same-day emergency care (SDEC)
  • The impact of a smoking cessation programme on referrals in a cardiorespiratory admissions unit
  • Improving fluid balance charts through staff education on a general medical ward: a quality improvement project
Show more QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PATIENT SAFETY

Similar Articles

FAQs

  • Difficulty logging in.

There is currently no login required to access the journals. Please go to the home page and simply click on the edition that you wish to read. If you are still unable to access the content you require, please let us know through the 'Contact us' page.

  • Can't find the CME questionnaire.

The read-only self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) can be found after the CME section in each edition of Clinical Medicine. RCP members and fellows (using their login details for the main RCP website) are able to access the full SAQ with answers and are awarded 2 CPD points upon successful (8/10) completion from:  https://cme.rcplondon.ac.uk

Navigate this Journal

  • Journal Home
  • Current Issue
  • Ahead of Print
  • Archive

Related Links

  • ClinMed - Home
  • FHJ - Home

Other Services

  • Advertising
futurehosp Footer Logo
  • Home
  • Journals
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
HighWire Press, Inc.

Follow Us:

  • Follow HighWire Origins on Twitter
  • Visit HighWire Origins on Facebook

Copyright © 2021 by the Royal College of Physicians